A trio of Twilight Ales (minuscule vertical)

When I had received the three Twilight Summer Ales from Deschutes Brewery, I noted that they all were freshly bottled within days of receiving them (all bottled on the same day, April 25). I thought it might be interesting to drink each of the three Twilights at different times, sort of a slow-motion mini-vertical tasting, to see how they changed over the few weeks the experiment would be carried out. So, I did just that, took some notes on each one as I drank it, and I’m finally writing up those results.

The beers were all stored cold so as to keep them as close to a “control” as possible.

(Aroma) Green and herbal but not really spicy, more like fresh-cut grass in that it’s fresh and refreshing. Malts a little more pronounced, with bready sweetness. (Taste) Malt at the forefront, toasty caramelized grains, with English-spicy hop bitterness that’s crisp and clean. Luscious with a bit of a dry finish.

I think it’s pretty clear that this was quite a bit more hop-forward barely a week after being bottled, with a fascinating progression from floral and fruity(ish) to spicy to herbal and mellow and more English in character. The malts do not follow a similar pattern, instead becoming more pronounced as the hops fade and not tasting “old” or “stale”, instead which I think actually improved (the maltiness, not necessarily the overall beer).

Not a bad progression by any means, though I could see how different people and tastes could appreciate different levels of age more (or less). You like a malty Twilight? Aim for a month old or more. More hop-forward? As fresh as possible. Neither of these bits of advice should be a revelation… nor should you think too hard on it. Just go pick up some Twilight Ale.